Dry Bones

History:

As Lord Bowser and his Major Domo, Kamek increasingly experimented with Dark Magic, they became obsessed with ideas of immortality. As Bowser encountered King Boo in the Boo Woods his interest turned not towards extending life but towards defeating Death. After countless Dark Magic trials on the innumerable Koopa Bodies robbed of life by Mario he perfected his skeletal fighting force - the Dry Bones. They aren't exactly zombified flesh-eaters but rather reanimated bones heavily resistant to heat and physical damage. In an effort to create a more loyal follower than Koopa or Paratroopa to race alongside him, Bowser invited the most worthy Dry Bones to race in the 2005 Grand Prix and he has been there ever since.

DS:

Dry Bones debuted as the only Lightweight Secret Character in DS. That game has an interesting system. Each Character slowly unlocks Three Signature Karts with varying stats - one average, one worse, but with a good Item Rating, and one that's excellent but with a low Item Rating. Eventually though, all Twelve Characters can access all 36 Karts, making for a crazy amount of combinations. Characters in different Karts don't change stats besides their initial Weight Class. Dry Bones adds nothing to the weight of any Kart, making him the Lightest in the game. Dry Bones' initial Kart Offerings are thus:

His Acceleration and Handling are among the best in the game. In fact, the Dry Bomber is the only Kart with a perfect 10 in both of those categories. His drift is slightly below average, but his speed is really awful. The Banisher has by far the Worst Speed in the Game. Still, the Dry Bomber is an excellent choice for anyone in Grand Prix.

Dry Bones' Ghosts in every game have only featured on Retro Tracks. features as a Staff Ghost on two Courses. He finishes the Donut Plains 1 with the Dry Bomber in 1:08:027, possibly alluding to his dryness. He's also in the 64 Banshee Boardwalk with the same ride in  2:14:403, a clear reference to his spookiness.

Wii:

Wii featured Three Size Classes who each had access to Six Karts and Six Bikes of varying stats. Each Individual Character also has his or her own Bonuses that add to certain stats. Dry Bones again has an Acceleration Bonus as well as a Drift Bonus but he really excels at Mini Turbo. His +6 is tied for the highest in the game and when using the Bullet Bike he ties with Koopa as the highest Mini Turbo Stat available. Here are his specific Stats:

The Bullet Bike is also the closet thing he has to a Signature Kart because its colour scheme fits Bullet Bill's actual colour scheme when Dry Bones uses it. You should use that Kart with Dry Bones for sure, it's one of the better Small Vehicles and Dry Bones makes it better. His Bonuses favour a very specific style of play, though, one that relies on managing tricky turns and corners with plenty of drifting and control. It can be advantages for complex courses in the hands of experienced racers.

His one Ghost appears in the Retro Desert Hills. Not only is it a course from his original Kart Game, DS, it's a very dry course. Dry Course? Dry Bones. It's all coming together. The Normal Ghost uses the Standard Bike S in 02:10.233, the Expert upgrades to the Tiny Titan in 01:52.686. That Kart only nominally takes advantage of Dry Bones' Bonuses. Switch to the Bullet Bike and take him down.